Thermal container

ABSTRACT

A thermal container includes a cover, a main body, an opening-closing assembly, and a plurality of support poles. The main body has a storage space therein. The opening-closing assembly includes an upper connecting member and a lower connecting member. The lower connecting member is hermetically connected to the main body. The upper connecting member is hermetically connected to the cover. The support poles are vertically arranged in the main body for supporting the lower connecting member. The support poles, the upper connecting member and the lower connecting member are made of a hard material. The overall supporting strength of the thermal container is improved.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a thermal box, and more particularly toa thermal container.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Thermal containers are containers having thermal insulation properties.In our daily life, thermal boxes are widely used, especially in thefields of take-away food, medicine, scientific research, etc. forcarrying articles that need to be kept in a constant temperatureenvironment. Compared with a general storage box, the main body of athermal box is made of special materials to attain a thermal function,so that the main body has a short-term thermal effect for storing food,medicines, samples, and the like and for maintaining the temperature andfreshness of the above items.

The material of the main body of a conventional thermal box emphasizesits thermal insulation performance and can play a certain role inshaping. The load-bearing capacity of the overall structure is poor.Once a heavier object is placed on the top of the thermal box, it willcause the thermal box to deform or even collapse.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a thermalcontainer with high load-bearing capacity to ensure that the overallstructure is stable and not deformed.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts thefollowing technical solutions.

A thermal container comprises a cover, a main body, an opening-closingassembly, and a plurality of support poles. The main body has a storagespace therein. The opening-closing assembly includes an upper connectingmember and a lower connecting member. The lower connecting member ishermetically connected to an opening of the storage space. The lowerconnecting member has a through hole communicating with the storagespace. The upper connecting member is hermetically connected to thecover. The upper connecting member is provided with a protruding portionmatching the through hole. The protruding portion is movably,hermetically fitted in the through hole. The support poles arevertically arranged in the main body. Upper ends of the support polessupport an underside of the lower connecting member. The support poles,the upper connecting member and the lower connecting member are made ofa hard material.

Preferably, the cover and the upper connecting member as well as themain body and the lower connecting member are connected in a sealedmanner by bonding.

Preferably, the cover includes a first outer layer, a first interlayerand a first inner layer that are stacked in sequence.

Preferably, the main body includes a second outer layer, a secondinterlayer and a second inner layer that are stacked in sequence. Thesupport poles are arranged between the second outer layer and the secondinner layer.

Preferably, the main body is in the form of a box. The number of thesupport poles is four, and the four support poles are arranged at fourcorners of the main body, respectively.

Preferably, the second interlayer after being folded is formed with polecavities at corner positions of the second interlayer for the supportpoles to be fitted therein.

Preferably, a side wall of each support pole is formed with a groove forinsertion of the second interlayer.

Preferably, rear ends of the upper connecting member and the lowerconnecting member are pivotally connected together, and front ends ofthe upper connecting member and the lower connecting member are providedwith a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism includes a hook disposedon the front end of the upper connecting member and a catching portiondisposed on the front end of the lower connecting member. When the upperconnecting member and the lower connecting member are closed, the hookis buckled to the catching portion.

Preferably, the opening-closing assembly further includes a sealingring. A side wall of the through hole is provided with an annular step.One side of the step, facing the protruding portion, is formed with anannular flange. The sealing ring is fitted onto the flange. When theupper connecting member and the lower connecting member are closed, theprotruding portion is in contact with the sealing ring and compressesthe sealing ring to be deformed.

Preferably, the hard material is an injection moldable plastic material.

By adopting the above solutions, in the present invention, the upperconnecting member and the lower connecting member serve as the frame ofthe thermal container. The support poles support the underside of thelower connecting member. The upper connecting member can increase thesupporting strength of the cover, and the lower connecting member andthe support poles can increase the supporting strength of the main body,so that the thermal container has a higher load-bearing capacity. Evenif a heavy object is placed on the top of the thermal container, theoverall structure is stable and will not be deformed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention in a closed state;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention in an open state;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a first implementation of the supportpoles of the preferred embodiment of the present invention (across-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3);

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a second implementation of the supportpoles of the preferred embodiment of the present invention (across-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3);

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the opening-closing assembly of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the opening-closing assembly of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the opening-closing assembly of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention discloses a thermal container, comprising a cover1, a main body 2, an opening-closing assembly, and a plurality ofsupport poles 3.

The main body 2 has a storage space 21 therein.

The opening-closing assembly includes an upper connecting member 4 and alower connecting member 5. The lower connecting member 5 is hermeticallyconnected to an opening of the storage space 21. The lower connectingmember 5 has a through hole 51 communicating with the storage space 21.The upper connecting member 4 is hermetically connected to the cover 1.The upper connecting member 4 is provided with a protruding portion 41matching the through hole 51. The protruding portion 41 is movably,hermetically fitted in the through hole 51.

The support poles 3 are vertically arranged in the main body 2. Theupper ends of the support poles 3 support the underside of the lowerconnecting member 5.

The support poles 3, the upper connecting member 4 and the lowerconnecting member 5 are made of a hard material.

FIGS. 1 to 11 show an embodiment of the present invention.

The rear ends of the upper connecting member 4 and the lower connectingmember 5 are pivotally connected together. The front ends of the upperconnecting member 4 and the lower connecting member 5 are provided witha locking mechanism. The upper connecting member 4 can be opened andclosed relative to the lower connecting member 5. When opened, the upperconnecting member 4 and the cover 1 are in an open state and suspendedon the side of the main body 2. The upper connecting member 4 and thelower connecting member 5 may be pivoted through a rotating shaft or ahinge, depending on the actual needs.

The cover 1 and the upper connecting member 4 as well as the main body 2and the lower connecting member 5 are connected in a sealed manner bybonding.

The cover 1 includes a first outer layer 11, a first interlayer 12 and afirst inner layer 13 that are stacked in sequence. The upper connectingmember 4 is provided with a hollow structure 42 passing through theupper and lower surfaces of the upper connecting member 4. The firstinterlayer 12 is fitted in the hollow structure 42. The first outerlayer 11 and the first inner layer 13 are hermetically connected to theupper surface and the lower surface of the upper connecting member 4,respectively.

The main body 2 includes a second outer layer 22, a second interlayer 23and a second inner layer 24 that are stacked in sequence. The lowersurface of the lower connecting member 5 is formed with an annularmounting groove 52. The upper end of the second interlayer 23 is fittedin the mounting groove 52. The second outer layer 22 and the secondinner layer 24 are attached to the outer side and the inner side of thesecond interlayer 23, respectively. The upper ends of the second outerlayer 22 and the second inner layer 24 are hermetically connected to theouter side and the inner side of the mounting groove 52, respectively.The support poles 3 are arranged between the second outer layer 22 andthe second inner layer 24.

The first outer layer 11, the first inner layer 13, the second outerlayer 22 and the second inner layer 24 are all made of a fabric. Thefabric is formed of a composite material of a polyvinyl chloride (PVC),thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) or polyethylene-vinyl acetate (PEVA) material and a textile material. Both thefirst interlayer 12 and the second interlayer 23 are made of a plasticmaterial. The plastic material is formed of a material having thermalinsulation properties, such as PE cotton, ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA),thermoplastic rubber (TPR), foam or nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR).

The main body 2 is in the form of a box. The number of the support poles3 is four. The four support poles 3 are arranged at four corners of themain body 2, respectively.

There are many specific ways for the support poles 3 to be fitted in themain body 2 as long as the support poles 3 are always perpendicular tothe lower connecting member 5 without shaking. FIG. 5 shows the firstimplementation of the support poles 3 in this embodiment. The secondinterlayer 23 after being folded is formed with pole cavities 231 atcorner positions of the second interlayer 23 for the support poles 3 tobe fitted therein. That is, the second interlayer 23 is used to fill theperiphery of each support pole 3 to prevent the position of the supportpole 3 from changing or to prevent the support pole 3 from shaking. FIG.6 shows the second implementation of the support poles 3 in thisembodiment. Each support pole 3 is formed with a groove 31 for insertionof the second interlayer 23. That is, the second interlayer 23 isretained by the side walls of the support poles 3, so that the two areheld in place.

The locking mechanism includes a hook 6 disposed on the front end of theupper connecting member 4 and a catching portion 53 disposed on thefront end of the lower connecting member 5. When the upper connectingmember 4 and the lower connecting member 5 are closed, the hook 6 isbuckled to the catching portion 53, so that the front end of the upperconnecting member 4 is fastened to the front end of the lower connectingmember 5. In this embodiment, the hook 6 is pivotally connected to thefront end of the upper connecting member 4. The front end of the lowerconnecting member 5 is formed with a recess 54. The catching portion 53is disposed in the recess 54. After the upper connecting member 4 andthe lower connecting member 5 are closed, the hook 6 is located in therecess 54 and will not extend beyond the front ends of the upperconnecting member 4 and the lower connecting member 5, keeping the frontends of the upper connecting member 4 and the lower connecting member 5flat. That is, the surface of the thermal container is flat.

The opening-closing assembly further includes a sealing ring 7. The sidewall of the through hole 51 is provided with an annular step 55. Oneside of the step 55, facing the protruding portion 41, is formed with anannular flange 56. The sealing ring 7 is fitted onto the flange 56. Whenthe upper connecting member 4 and the lower connecting member 5 areclosed, the protruding portion 41 is in contact with the sealing ring 7and compresses the sealing ring 7 to be deformed, so as to maintainairtightness between the protruding portion 41 and the step 55. Thesealing ring 7 is secured on the flange 56 of the step 55. The sealingring 7 is not easy to loose when the opening-closing assembly is closedor opened. The flange 56 abuts on the sealing ring 7 to deform thesealing ring 7, and the stressed area is small. The sealing ring 7 ismore fully deformed and has a better sealing effect. In this embodiment,the sealing ring 7 is adhered to the flange 56. The sealing ring 7 ismade of PVC, TPU, TPR, rubber or silicone.

The hard material is an injection moldable plastic material.

In practical applications, the main body 2 is generally made into theshape of a box or bag. Of course, in the present invention, the thermalcontainer may be designed into two separate parts in other forms.

By adopting the above solutions, in the present invention, the upperconnecting member 4 and the lower connecting member 5 serve as the frameof the thermal container. The support poles 3 support the underside ofthe lower connecting member 5. The upper connecting member 4 canincrease the supporting strength of the cover 1, and the lowerconnecting member 5 and the support poles 3 can increase the supportingstrength of the main body 2, so that the thermal container has a higherload-bearing capacity. Even if a heavy object is placed on the top ofthe thermal container, the overall structure is stable and will not bedeformed.

When the thermal container of the present invention is used for bearingweight, it can be used as a chair. The thermal container provided by thepresent invention is more suitable for carrying when going out on apicnic or traveling.

What is claimed is:
 1. A thermal container, comprising a cover, a mainbody, an opening-closing assembly, and a plurality of support poles; themain body having a storage space therein; the opening-closing assemblyincluding an upper connecting member and a lower connecting member; thelower connecting member being hermetically connected to an opening ofthe storage space, the lower connecting member having a through holecommunicating with the storage space; the upper connecting member beinghermetically connected to the cover, the upper connecting member beingprovided with a protruding portion matching the through hole, theprotruding portion being movably, hermetically fitted in the throughhole; the support poles being vertically arranged in the main body,upper ends of the support poles supporting an underside of the lowerconnecting member; the support poles, the upper connecting member andthe lower connecting member being made of a hard material.
 2. Thethermal container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover and the upperconnecting member as well as the main body and the lower connectingmember are connected in a sealed manner by bonding.
 3. The thermalcontainer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover includes a firstouter layer, a first interlayer and a first inner layer that are stackedin sequence.
 4. The thermal container as claimed in claim 3, wherein themain body includes a second outer layer, a second interlayer and asecond inner layer that are stacked in sequence, and the support polesare arranged between the second outer layer and the second inner layer.5. The thermal container as claimed in claim 4, wherein the main body isin the form of a box; the number of the support poles is four, and thefour support poles are arranged at four corners of the main body,respectively.
 6. The thermal container as claimed in claim 5, whereinthe second interlayer after being folded is formed with pole cavities atcorner positions of the second interlayer for the support poles to befitted therein.
 7. The thermal container as claimed in claim 5, whereina side wall of each support pole is formed with a groove for insertionof the second interlayer.
 8. The thermal container as claimed in claim1, wherein rear ends of the upper connecting member and the lowerconnecting member are pivotally connected together, front ends of theupper connecting member and the lower connecting member are providedwith a locking mechanism; the locking mechanism includes a hook disposedon the front end of the upper connecting member and a catching portiondisposed on the front end of the lower connecting member, when the upperconnecting member and the lower connecting member are closed, the hookis buckled to the catching portion.
 9. The thermal container as claimedin claim 1, wherein the opening-closing assembly further includes asealing ring; a side wall of the through hole is provided with anannular step, one side of the step, facing the protruding portion, isformed with an annular flange, the sealing ring is fitted onto theflange; when the upper connecting member and the lower connecting memberare closed, the protruding portion is in contact with the sealing ringand compresses the sealing ring to be deformed.
 10. The thermalcontainer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hard material is aninjection moldable plastic material.
 11. The thermal container asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the main body includes a second outer layer,a second interlayer and a second inner layer that are stacked insequence, and the support poles are arranged between the second outerlayer and the second inner layer.